In the prior art, micro-component heat exchangers and cooling mechanisms have been found useful in the fields of microprocessor design where heat generated in the operation of a microprocessor is dissipated by an ancillary mechanism that provides a coolant or otherwise withdraws heat energy created as a function of electrical circuit processing from the system. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,987,893 showing a micro cooler having micro-channels through which a coolant flows. The micro cooler includes a plurality of thin layers of metal joined in an assembly by diffusion bonding; U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,618 relating to a modular micro-channel heat exchanger for a heated region in a micro device such as a chip. A coolant enters the exchanger, absorbs heat and exits; U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,641 describes V-shaped or tapered micro-channels formed in a substrate; U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,123 also describes V-shaped micro-channels tapered in the direction of flow of fluid through the channel; U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,560 shows a heat sink formed of an integral element of thermally conductive material.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a micro-component heat exchanger assembly that facilitates the flow of gas phase and liquid phase fluids on either side of an intermediate separator or waveplate having micro-channels formed on opposite sides thereof such that energy transfer of gas phase fluids on the opposite sides of the separator is principally effected by diffusion and energy is conducted through the separator. It is a further object of the invention to provide a device in which the intermediate separator between alternate flows may include a catalyst to promote a chemical operation on the fluid passing through the device. It is yet another object to provide a micro-device having increased surface area between sections such that a micro-component reaction chamber is provided and that increased efficiency in the transfer of heat energy by diffusion is achieved.
The invention is described more fully in the following description of the preferred embodiment considered in view of the drawings in which: